Open House Report: 151 West 86th Street #3D

151 West 86th Street #3D Coop, 9 rooms: 4 bedrooms, 4 baths Asks $4,459,000; Maint. $4,125 Traffic: Light 151-161 West 86th is a distinguished mid-block coop with two lobbies and four floor-through lines. “D” is the easternmost and the second largest. It’s an unusual nine, with no real bedroom wing. What the line lacks in flow, however, it makes up in raw space and gracious entertaining rooms. #3D... [more]

151 West 86th Street #3D Coop, 9 rooms: 4 bedrooms, 4 baths Asks $4,459,000; Maint. $4,125 Traffic: Light 151-161 West 86th is a distinguished mid-block coop with two lobbies and four floor-through lines. “D” is the easternmost and the second largest. It’s an unusual nine, with no real bedroom wing. What the line lacks in flow, however, it makes up in raw space and gracious entertaining rooms. #3D is a puzzling new listing. There is nothing special about the apartment, other than its size. The floorplan has been reworked somewhat: an extra small bathroom has been added to the front bedrooms, and the kitchen has been pulled forward to a position adjoining the dining room. I’d call the layout a modest improvement over the original. The work appears to be 15-20 years old. The kitchen is aging and poorly finished, although it does include a small Garland range. The bathrooms are a mix of dated and just plain old. The window air conditioners are ugly old clunkers and the generous closets are distinctly musty. Condition of walls and floors is good. Light is good in the front-facing rooms. The low-floor views don’t amount to much, and currently even the M86 bus is obscured by scaffolding. The current owners purchased #3D in mid-2006 for $3.395M. The last sale in this line was #9D, which was in much better condition than #3D and closed for $3MM in early 2010. If #3D had come to market in the mid-$3MM range, it would be just another moderately ambitious late-season offering. What distinguishes this listing is the sheer chutzpah of the asking price, which exceeds the previous high for the building by nearly 30%. Although 151-161 is a very nice building, the $4MM buyer doesn’t generally shop between Amsterdam and Columbus - especially in third floor apartments with dated finishes. [less]